UC Davis

Background: Adolescent girls experience high rates of negative outcomes from sex including unintended pregnancies and disproportionate rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and intimate partner violence (IPV) compared to male counterparts. US. school-based sexual education has been shown to increase adolescent knowledge about sexual risks and harm-reduction strategies, increase safer-sex practices, and delay timing of first intercourse. However, due to Christian influence in the US, federally and state-funded abstinence-only sexual education programs (AOSEP) aimed at preventing premarital sex are increasingly abundant. AOSEP often do not address contraception or STI risk reduction and may stigmatize sexual health information. Despite formal sexual education programs, the majority of sexual education is provided informally at home by parents. Mothers are more likely than fathers to have conversations about sex with their adolescents and are also more likely to speak with their daughters about sex than with their sons. Aims: I sought to understand how Christian teachings and religious affiliation influence the way that Christian mothers communicate to their adolescent daughters about sex and sexuality as well as to explore the role of feminism in the context of mother-daughter communication with adolescent daughters about sex and sexuality within a historically patriarchal organization. Methods: I used purposive and snowball sampling to recruit 12 mothers from across the US who had daughters aged 13-19 and who self-identified as Christian. The sample included women from various Christian denominations. I interviewed the 12 women and analyzed data using a constructivist grounded theory methodology. I utilized a constant-comparison technique of data collection and analysis until I reached theoretical sufficiency in three theoretical concepts. Findings: The findings from these data yielded three major theoretical concepts: 1) instilling values, 2) protecting daughters from potential harm, and 3) establishing influence and examining expectations. Participants discussed the types of values that were important to impart on daughters, the use of these values as a means to protect daughters from potential harm, and the process of communication that was used to accomplish these tasks. Christian mothers described both instilling Christian values and feminist values into daughters, although only one mother briefly discussed feminism by name. Mothers described experiencing ambivalent feelings about how to both establish influence over their daughters in a way to align with their own values, as well as protect their daughters from potential harm stemming from either having premarital sex or experiencing harmful effects of the Christian “purity culture.” Conclusion: Christianity influenced mothers in communicating with their adolescent daughters about sex and sexuality by providing a moral foundation for conversations. Christian mothers often described feminist values that were important to them to pass onto daughters during these conversations but reported ambivalent feelings at times when reconciling their Christian religiosity with traditional feminist values.